The Australian Academy of Science invites applications from Australia's early- and mid-career researchers (EMCRs) to access Participation Support grants valued at up to $5,000 each, funded by the Theo Murphy Initiative (Australia) or TMIA. It is expected that 10–15 Participation Support grants will be awarded in this round.
Participation Support grants provide funding to offset the cost of caring, accessibility and mobility needs to enable EMCRs to attend an event or activity that will support career development, such as a conference or training workshop. A Participation Support grant should enable access where an EMCR would otherwise not have been able to engage in the event or activity due to travel costs, accessibility needs or caring responsibilities.
Funding can be used to pay for travel costs to attend an event or to cover expenses associated with caring responsibilities, such as childcare. Funding can also be used to support travel costs for a carer to accompany the EMCR to provide support to the EMCR or their dependants.
Applications should be for confirmed activities occurring within 12 months (January to December 2025). After the application submission deadline, the Academy will perform an eligibility check and use a computerised random draw generator to select application numbers based on available funding and proposed budget amounts.
To be eligible to receive a Participation Support grant, applicants must:
Eligible research organisations:
*Career disruption or barrier: A career disruption or barrier is an interruption that has caused prolonged impact on a researcher’s capacity to conduct high-level research in the period since the conferral of their first PhD.
It may be due to reduced opportunities for research which may be due one or more of the following: prolonged absences due to unemployment, childbirth, carers’ responsibilities, limited or no access to facilities and resources, disaster management and recovery, medical conditions, disability or accessibility needs, community obligations, including Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander cultural practices and protocols.
An additional 6 months (pro rata) can be applied for each year of eligible career disruption to account for the time it takes to reestablish research after a period of extended leave.
Eligible applications must:
Applications are welcome from EMCRs in all fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
Successful applications may receive an offer of funding from the Academy towards the cost of attending an event or activity that will support career development or provide professional training, where otherwise the EMCR would not have been able to engage in the event or activity.
Terms and conditions of the grant are below, and the acceptance of these conditions is required at time of application submission.
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Submit an online application on the Academy’s grant portal, and attach the following documents:
Applications will be assessed for eligibility by the Academy. Eligible applications will be selected for funding by a computerised random selection generator based on proposed budget and available funding.
Successful applicants will be required to submit a report one month after attending the event or activity to provide feedback on how the grant enabled their engagement and participation. The Academy will provide reporting template to the awardees.
It is a requirement that any publication or media release resulting from the activities funded by this program mention the support of the Australian Academy of Science and the Theo Murphy Initiative (Australia).
The call for applications is currently closed, and the outcomes of the 2024-25 grant round will be available in mid-December 2024.
Australian Academy of Science
GPO Box 783
Canberra ACT 2601
Phone: +61 2 6201 9433
Email: theomurphyau@science.org.au
© 2024 Australian Academy of Science